Most of Beaver was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Its Register listings are the Presbyterian Church, the Lane Cabin and the Beaver County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Beaver’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beaver is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beaver’s overall grade.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Beaver’s 18.9 sits above most of its state (79% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1879.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Beaver’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Beaver is located by Beaver River, also known as North Canadian River, and began as the location of a fur-trading post in 1879. Its original name was Beaver City, and was planned to be the capital of the short-lived Cimarron Territory. The Federal government never recognized the proposed Territory, but Beaver City remained the center of business and law enforcement for the area. In 1890, the territory was assigned to Oklahoma Territory; Beaver City became the seat for the entire Oklahoma Panhandle, then known as Seventh County.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1879, according to Wikidata. Beaver’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1900 counted 112 people here.
How does Beaver rank for history?
Beaver is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Beaver?
Three places: the Presbyterian Church (listed 1974), the Lane Cabin (1974) and the Beaver County Courthouse (1984).
How old are the homes in Beaver?
8% of Beaver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1969.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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